The Power of Viral Content

While the majority of my blog entries consist of topics related to intentional ad campaigns launched by companies to promote their brand to consumers, this is not the only type of advertising that persuades consumers to purchase products. In fact, a more credible form of advertising is user-generated content, which is how the brands Coke and Mentos were able to gain positive PR without even trying.

It all started with www.eepybird.com, a website created to showcase videos featuring scientists Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz doing entertaining acts with ordinary objects. One line of experiments involves the use of Mentos and Coke to create a powerful geyser with the soda. For example, in one experiment the two scientists create Coke and Mentos Rocket Car that is launched to a record distance using over 300 bottles of Coke and over 600 Mentos candies. This YouTube video quickly went viral and visibly featured both the Coke and Mentos brands.

In response to these videos, viewers began creating and posting their own user-generated versions of Coke/Mentos experiments, hugely increasing the impact of the campaign. This line of videos inspired people to try something exciting and potentially dangerous and noticeably increased sales of the two brands. These videos provided users of the Coke and Mentos brands with new and exciting reasons to purchase and interact with the brands that were unknown before this viral phenomenon.  While it is difficult to say exactly how much attention the videos have generated, it has been estimated that over 50 million people were exposed to the idea of the experiment. This is a huge amount of exposure, considering neither coke nor Mentos paid a penny to earn the PR. This example illustrates the massive power of word of mouth because people were intrigued by the idea of the experiment and wanted to share it with others, resulting in a viral internet phenomenon. Fortunately for Coke and Mentos this line of videos resulted in a positive PR experience, but other brands have not been so lucky. For instance, many dissatisfied consumers choose to video themselves complaining about unsatisfactory or dysfunctional products, which can result in negative PR for those brands.

This is a unique example because it is not user-generated content with the sole purpose of advertising or promoting either brand, rather it is promoting a fun experiment that people can modify and try their own version at home. While the reaction of Coke and Mentos has been known for many years with products like the Geyser Tube, for people at home to create their own 25 geyser, these products did not have near the powerful effects that word of mouth and viral presence created for the brands.